Construction management is an organization that applies many specialized, task-oriented techniques to supervise the entire planning, designing, and construction of an entire project, from the beginning to the end. It entails a range of specializations including mechanical, structural, electrical, building, and even plumbing or HVAC. In addition, it involves a wide variety of administrative duties such as budget analysis, scheduling, materials management, labor relations, and project tracking. In order to be qualified for construction management, however, you must possess certain skills. These skills are divided into three main categories:
The first skill you need to possess if you wish to pursue a career in construction management is communication. You must be good at listening to and speaking to all sorts of people, from engineers and other team members to employees, customers, and vendors. Communication is necessary in the bid process, which involves negotiating prices with all parties involved in a construction project. Without good negotiation skills, you won’t have any leverage to obtain the best price; thus, communication is crucial to your career as a construction manager.
The second category of skills you need to possess if you want to pursue a career in construction management is analytical and planning skills. Some typical skills required by construction managers include scheduling, materials management, cost control, quality control, and cost optimization. Each of these skills requires different approaches to the way you approach projects. Thus, in order to excel in your chosen career, you must develop the skills to work with and understand multiple disciplines.
Next, you need to be able to coordinate all aspects of a building project. This includes coordinating all personnel, services, and material used in the construction management process. You might work on a project that involves several building contractors or subcontractors. You might be the sole construction manager for a single building project. Regardless of your situation, being able to coordinate all aspects of the project means that you have tremendous control over the project’s overall success or failure.
In addition to coordinating, you also must be able to analyze the performance of your team of construction managers. Real-time data is crucial to every phase of a construction project. Because your team is your most valuable asset, it is crucial that you understand how they are performing when it comes to real-time productivity. You can use historical data, benchmarking, and other tools to get a better understanding of how your team is performing so you can adjust your strategy accordingly.
Communication is also vital in the bid process. If you want to succeed as a construction manager, you must know how to effectively communicate with everyone from the bidding process to the homeowners who will be using the facility you are managing. Communication allows you to respond to every bidding game promptly and efficiently. It is also the key to every construction management project’s success, as the right communication is essential in building strong business relationships with both the homeowners and other contractors and key subcontractors. Without communication, every construction management project is doomed to fail.
As you work to complete your construction management systems and prepare for the bid process, it is essential that you remain connected with your team of subcontractors. The most successful projects often begin with excellent communication, but overtime, things can get a bit complicated. When your subcontractors are experiencing project delays, there may be things that you overlook. When you are not onsite to help them out, it is only by communicating frequently with your subcontractors that you can help to alleviate any concerns they have. If you are not connected enough with your subcontractors, you run the risk of not having enough supply chain resources on hand to help relieve their problems.
Each phase of project management requires communication with all parties involved, whether the homeowners, the subcontractors, or the manufacturers that will be providing the products and services to the project. For this reason, construction management software that includes real-time communication tools will ensure that you never miss a beat. A lot of construction management systems offer advanced features, e.g. automated reminders, customized reports, order tracking, workflow applications and advanced analysis capabilities. When looking for the best construction management tool for your needs, make sure that you choose one that provides e.g. alerts with email attachments, a database of all information within the program, reporting and workflow capabilities, flexible permissions and an interface that are user-friendly.